LOCATION,  DESIGN,  AND  CONSTRUCTION 


OF 

PEORIA- HENRY  HIGHWAY 

BY 


ALFRED  HUGHLLYN  HUNTER 
A.  B.  University  of  Illinois,  1917 


THESIS 


Submitted  in  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  Requirements  for  the 


Degree  of 


CIVIL  ENGINEER 


IN 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 


OF  THE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


1921 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/locationdesigncoOOhunt 


l^\ 

v\  ^ \ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 


mzJL 


_i&i_ 


I HEREBY  RECOMMEND  THAT  THE  THESIS  PREPARED  BY_ 


ALFRED  HUGHLLYN  HUNTER 


ENTITLED  LOCATION t DESIGN.  AND  CONSTRUCTION  OF 


THE  PEORIA-HENRY  HIGHWAY. 


BE  ACCEPTED  AS  FULFILLING  THIS  PART  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  THE 


PROFESSIONAL  DEGREE  OF  CTVTT.  ENGINEER 


(D. 


Head  of  Department  of  CIVIL  ENGINEERING. 


Recommendation  concurred  in: 


(£  • / J/t  &£/ls. 


f Committee 


J 


i vK  \ . 


$ > K y ' \ - 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Page 

Introduction,  1 

I.  Location.  4 

II.  Distribution  of  Funds.  5 

III.  Reoonnoi seance.  S 

IT.  Surveys.  12 

V.  Plans,  15 

VI.  Estimates.  18 

VII.  Engineering  Supervision  of  Construction.  23 

VIII.  Special  Features  of  Construction.  35 

IX.  Conclusions.  35 


. 


. 


. - r„  6 3 .III 

, 5 . V 


. 


. ' . 

. . 


* 


P RE  FACE. 


The  undersigned,  for  several  years  connected  with  the 
Department  of  Public  Works  and  Buildings  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
was  District  Engineer  during  the  time  the  location,  design,  and 
construction  of  the  Peoria-Henry  Highway  was  under  consideration 
and  was  in  responsible  direction  of  all  the  engineering  work, 
subject  only  to  general  suggestions  and  approval  by  the  authorities 
in  the  main  office  of  the  Division  of  Highwayso 


LOCATION 


DESIGN  AND  CONSTRUCTION 
OF 

PEORIA- HENRY  HIGHWAY 


INTRODUCTION 

The  commercial  benefits  derived  from  the  use  of  passenger 
automobiles  and  truoks  for  the  transportation  of  passengers  or 
commodities  in  thickly  settled  communities  were  so  assuring  that 
those  interested  were  reluctant  to  limit  their  operation  to  the 
more  seasonable  months*  The  perfection  of  the  gas  engine  was  so 
apparent  that  the  only  barrier  to  complete  year-round  operation 
was  the  condition  of  the  highway  surface.  Briefly,  the  combination 
of  soil  and  weather  conditions  extant  in  the  Central  Mississippi 
Valley  States  was  such  as  to  preclude  traffic  on  the  earth  roads 
during  much  of  the  spring  or  winter  months.  Various  local  com- 
munities endeavored  to  solve  the  question  of  surface  improvement  in 
their  own  way,  but  were  usually  hampered  by  a lack  of  sufficient 
funds  or  were  prone  to  conduct  expensive  experiments  of  question- 
able value* 

The  State  of  Illinois,  acting  through  the  legislature,  saw  fit 
to  make  liberal  appropriations  for  research  and  experiment  as  early 
as  1906*  Subsequent  years  brought  increased  sentiment  with  com- 
mensurate appropriations*  By  1913  the  value  of  highway  improve- 
ment had  been  so  well  proved  that  the  Illinois  legislature  passed 


3”  •—  — 


what  was  afterwards  known  as  the  "State-Aid  Road  Law".  One  of  the 
main  features  was  the  laying  out  of  a road  system  of  approximately 
16,000  miles  whioh  presumably  connected  all  the  larger  citlee« 

It  was  planned  to  have  the  cost  of  improvement  borne  jointly  and 
equally  by  the  State  and  the  County  in  which  the  road  was  located. 

The  funds  necessary  to  defray  the  cost  to  the  State  were  to  be  se- 
cured from  a license  fee  levied  upon  all  motor  vehicles.  This 
arrangement , although  limited  by  the  purchasing  power  of  the  several 
counties,  was  an  efficient  means  of  constructing  a few  miles  of  high- 
way. Its  greatest  virtue  possibly  consisted  in  its  value  as  an 
advertising  featureo 

After  five  years  of  State-aid  construction  it  became  apparent, 
as  the  rate  of  progress  was  so  limited,  that  if  highways  were  to  be 
improved  and  enjoyed  during  the  lifetime  of  those  then  living,  more 
expedient  means  of  construction  must  be  provided.  In  view  of  an 
insistent  demand,  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  acting  through 
the  legislature,  drew  up  what  is  known  as  the  "Sixty-Million  Bond- 
Issue  Law".  In  brief,  it  proposed  a highway  program  calling  for 
the  improvement  of  4,800  miles  of  highway  connecting  the  important 
cities  and  county  seats,  the  entire  cost  of  which  was  to  be  borne  by 
the  State.  It  was  further  suggested  that  improvement  be  made  at  eucl 
a rate  as  to  insure  completion  inside  of  five  years.  To  provide 
funds,  the  State  was  to  sell  bonds  to  the  extent  of  sixty  million 
dollars.  The  State  revenue  for  paying  interest  ahd  liquidating  the 
bonds  was  to  be  secured  by  increasing  the  tax  on  motor  vehicles. 

The  question  of  bond  issue  was  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  gen- 
eral election  in  the  fall  of  1918  and  was  carried  by  a considerable 
majority. 


Previous  to  the  approval  of  the  bond  issue,  the  federal  govern- 
ment had  seen  fit  to  appropriate  to  the  various  states  of  the  Union 
for  highway  purposes  the  sum  of  seventy-five  million  dollars,  with 
the  understanding  that  the  federal  government  would  not  bear  more 
than  fifty  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  construction.  One  third  of  this 
allotment  was  to  be  distributed  among  the  several  states  in  the  same 
ratio  as  the  area  of  each  state  bears  to  the  sum  of  the  areas  of  all 
the  states;  another  third  was  to  be  distributed  in  the  ratio  of 
population;  and  the  remaining  third  to  be  proportioned  in  the  ratio 
of  post-road-  mileage.  The  first  session  of  the  legislature  after 
the  allotment  of  funds,  took  the  necessary  steps  for  its  acceptance  , 
levied  an  appropriation,  and  by  so  doing,  placed  the  Division  of 
Highways  in  position  to  proceed  with  construction. 

At  the  time  of  initial  steps  for  federal-aid  improvement,  the 
sixty  million  bond  issue  had  not  been  approved  by  the  voters;  but  in 
anticipation  of  this  action,  the  routes  selected  were  made  coincident 
with  the  general  location  as  provided  in  the  bond  issue.  For  this 
reason,  the  Chicago-Springfield  road  between  Peoria  and  De  Pue,  was 
made  to  conform  to  the  general  location  as  determined  in  the  bond- 
issue  law.  In  later  contracts,  the  first  segment  north  of  Peoria 
became  known  as  the  Peoria-Henry  Project. 

In  earlier  improvements  the  work  of  the  Division  of  Highways 
was  more  or  less  fragmentary,  due  in  part  to  limited  funds,  and 
possibly  also  to  the  idea  of  local  importance  which  still  predominated 
inasmuch  as  no  means  had  yet  been  devised  for  connecting  counties.. 

The  Division  of  Highways  in  the  location  and  construction  of  roads 
greatly  desired  to  plan  a continuous  program. 


I.  LOCATION. 

For  so t®  years  after  the  advent  of  automobile#,  certain  main 
highway  had  become  the  accepted  lines  of  through  traffic.  For 
example,  the  Lincoln  Highway  in  Northern  Illinois  was  the  main  east 
and  west  road.  Appreciating  the  keen  competition  that  was  in  evi- 
dence for  these  various  locations,  and  also  the  inqpossibility  of 
improvement  of  a reasonable  mileage  with  the  funds  available,  the 
Division  was  prompted  to  suggest  to  the  counties  through  which  these 
main  highways  lay,  that  the  counties  contribute  to  the  cost  of  im- 
provement an  amount  equal  to  that  to  be  paid  by  the  State.  In  brief, 
the  burden  of  construction  was  to  be  shared  equally  by  county s state 
and  federal  government. 

With  these  ideas  well  in  mind,  a public  meeting  was  called  in 
Peoria  to  which  interested  representatives  were  invited.  A high- 
way organization  was  perfected  and  committees  from  each  county  were 
selected  whose  duty  it  would  be  to  create  sentiment  for  the  improve- 
ment and  to  formulate  some  definite  plans  for  financing  the  county1 s 
portion. 

By  way  of  assistance,  the  Division  of  Highways  prepared  an 
itemized  estimate  of  cost  of  improvement  and  a tentative  allotment 
of  funds  for  the  various  federal-aid  roads.  Table  I shows  the 
amount  of  State  funds  available  for  each  of  the  several  irrprovements. 
This  allotment  was  made  with  the  strict  understanding  that  unless 
the  counties  affected  made  arrangements  for  a like  amount,  other 
locations  might  be  given  preference.  Inasmuch  as  a tentative 
allotment  of  $1,315,000  had  been  set  aside  for  the  building  of  the 
Chioago-Springf ield  road,  it  became  evident  that  the  counties 


through  which  this  highway  extended  were  expected  to  provide  a like 
amount . 


TABLE  I. 

STATE  ALLOTMENT 
FOR 

FEDERAL-AID  ROADS 


Lincoln  Highway 
Dixie  Highway 
National  Old  Trails  Road 
Chicago-Springfield  Road 
Springfield-E.  St.  Louis  Road 
Chicago-Wisconsin  Road 


Chicago-Fulton 

Chicago-Danville 

E.  St,  Louie- Indiana  Line 

Chicago-Springfield 

Springfield-E.  St,  Louis 

Chicago-Wisconsin  Line 


$1,020,000. 

614.000. 

1.413.000. 

1.315.000. 

958.000. 

400.000. 


As  might  have  been  expected  each  local  community  was  extremely 
jealous  of  their  rights,  voiced  their  ideas  of  location,  and  were 
much  inclined  to  shift  the  burden  of  financial  responsibility  to 
their  neighboring  counties.  In  an  effort  to  determine  a reasonable 
distribution  of  cost,  the  engineers  of  the  Division  of  Highways 
prepared  a tabulated  statement  showing  a list  by  counties,  of  miles 
to  build,  estimate  of  cost,  and  several  schemes  for  distributing 
the  levy  of  $1,215,000  which  was  the  amount  due  from  the  several 
oounties.  Subsequent  to  the  time  of  preliminary  allotment,  an 
adjustment  occurred  in  financial  conditions  in  Cook  County  which 
resulted  in  a reduction  of  the  counties* s portion  to  $1,014,800, 

II. DISTRIBUTION  OF  FUNDS 

The  following, Table  II, is  indicative  of  the  effort  made  to  just- 
ly apportion  the  cost  to  the  several  counties. 


. ' 


'"v  " . -• 


t 


t 


— 7- 


1 


In  explanation  of  Table  II  it  might  be  well  to  state  that 
column  1 shows  the  miles  of  improvement  necessary  in  each  county, 
with  a grand  total  of  187,5  miles  for  the  entire  road.  Column  2 
indicates  the  estimated  cost  of  improvement  in  each  county.  The 
figure  of  $3,239,800  represents  the  total  estimated  cost  of  con- 
struction of  the  highway  for  the  oounties  listed.  There  was  con- 
siderable variation  in  the  character  of  the  road  designated  for  im- 
provement, and  for  this  reason,  the  cost  per  mile  of  road  will  be 
found  different  for  each  county*  For  example,  the  cost  per  mil© 
in  Will  County  is  $17,800,  while  in  Grundy  County  it  figures  $15,700. 

Columns  3 to  9 inclusive  concern  themselves  exclusively  with 
the  possibilities  of  distributing  the  cost  of  $1,014,800  among  the 
counties.  In  column  3 the  sum  of  $1,014,800  is  divided  on  the  ba- 
sis of  mileage.  For  example.  Will  County9 s portion  would  be  in 
the  ratio  of  miles  of  improvement  in  the  county  to  the  total  number 
of  miles  of  highway*  Column  4 suggests  apportionment  in  the  ratio 
of  estimated  cost  in  the  county  to  the  total  estimated  cost  of  the 
entire  road.  Similarly,  the  sums  listed  in  column  5 are  those  se- 
cured by  apportionment  on  the  basis  of  assessed  valuation*  All  the 
original  computations  were  made  on  a slide  rule  to  the  nearest  hun- 
dred dollars  and  accummulative  errors  adjusted* 

It  is  presumed  that  the  information  as  given  in  columns  7 and  8 
is  reasonably  apparent  exoept,  possibly,  the  manner  of  determining 
these  benefits*  It  was  realized,  however,  that  for  each  county  the 

road  would  have  a varying  degree  of  utility  when  considered  from  the 
estimated  benefits  that  would  accrue.  For  illustration,  the  oas# 
of  La  Salle  County  indicates  clearly,  should  you  examine  a map,  that 
possibly  no  other  single  highway  in  that  county  can  ever  attain  the 


- 8—~ 

importance  of  this  route  which,  extending  through  the  heart  of  the 
county,  connects  two  of  the  largest  cities  besides  several  other 
lesser  center®  of  population,  establishes  a line  of  communication  for 
transportation  of  the  many  natural  products  and  opens  for  outside 
tourists  the  state  and  private  parks  in  the  vicinity  of  Starved  Rock. 
For  these  reasons,  those  familiar  with  conditions  recommended  an  in- 
crease of  forty  per  cent  over  the  average  of  columns  3,  4 and  5. 

In  comparison  with  Putnam  County,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
federal  road  extends  along  the  river,  serves  only  one  township  and 
is  not  directly  accessible  for  the  three  remaining  townships  of  the 
county.  In  this  case  a sixty  per  cent  benefit  was  suggested« 

The  best  of  spirits  finally  prevailed  and  the  convention  unani- 
mously recommended  the  division  of  the  cost  on  the  basis  of  average 
proportion  as  indicated  in  the  last  column  of  Table  II.  Possibly 
this  act  of  cooperation  was  made  possible  through  the  action  of  Cook 
County  which,  rightfully  a sharer  in  the  improvement  program,  assumed 
the  entire  cost  of  construction  of  the  highway  within  the  county 
limits  and  further  donated  its  share  of  the  allotment  for  the  relief 
of  those  counties  less  able  to  contribute  to  the  improvement*  For 
this  reason.  Cook  County* s name  does  not  appear  in  the  list  as  given 
in  the  accompanying  table  and  Tables  I and  II  are  not  exactly  com- 
parable due  to  the  re-adjustment  of  the  finances.  This  idea  of 
sacrifice  so  impressed  the  convention  that  in  a reasonable  time 

every  county  affected  had  pledged  themselves  by  resolution  to  con- 

Vto  t 

tribute  their  alio ted  portion  of  the  cost0  Further,  it  is  clearly 
indicated  that  the  larger  and  more  wealthy  oounties  subscribed  liber- 
ally in  order  to  reduce  the  burden  upon  those  less  able  to  stand  the 
expense* 


■ — s — 


III . RECONNOISSANCE. 

It  must  be  appreciated  that  in  all  preliminary  work  the  limited 
time  permitted  only  a hurried  trip  on  the  main  roads  with  some  data 
on  mileage  and  a few  oasual  notes  of  general  information.^  With 
funds  pledged,  it  became  necessary  for  the  engineers  to  conduct  a 
careful  reoonnoiesance  survey  in  order  that  the  details  of  location 
could  be  accurately  determined.  In  conducting  those  preliminary 
surveys,  the  United  States  Post-office  Maps  were  found  valuable  as 
they  gave  a clear  outline  of  the  main  highways. 

In  a comparison  of  alternate  routes,  possibly  no  other  factor 
is  as  hard  to  determine,  or  affords  so  much  opportunity  for  engineer- 
ing judgment,  as  that  of  service.  Each  individual  questioned  de- 
sired to  emphasize  the  importance  of  the  local  road.  Yet,  a study 
of  the  recent  census  indicates  that  the  rural  population  of  the 
counties  of  Central  Illinois  rarely  approaches  forty  people  per 
square  mile.  In  fact,  in  many  counties,  it  is  nearer  twenty-five 
people  per  square  mile.  In  other  words,  adding  a mile  in  length  to 
a highway  could  not  bring  added  service  to  more  than  forty  people. 

The  importance  of  through  traffic  may  best  be  indicated  by 
reference  to  information  secured  in  a traffic  census  taken  in  the 
State  of  Iowa.  This  was  taken  on  one  of  the  main  earth  highways 
during  the  summer  season.  Not  only  was  the  volume  of  traffic  deter- 
mined, but  effort  was  made  to  ascertain  the  origin  as  well*  The 
report  is  as  follows?  three  per  cent  foreign,  eleven  per  cent  local 
and  eighty-six  per  cent  through.  By  foreign  traffic  is  meant  cars 
operated  from  some  point  outside  the  state.  Local  traffic  was  de- 
scribed as  that  traffic  originating  in  vicinity  of  the  road. 


—10— 


Through  traffic  wae  classified  as  that  operating  within  the  State, 

but  whose  points  of  origin  or  destination  were  beyond  the  immediate 

/'  S ’ 

terminals  of  the  road.  This  statement  appreciably  not  conclusive 
invited  serious  consideration  to  through  traffic  in  the  final  recom- 
mendation* 

For  many  years  the  number  of  deaths  and  serious  accidents  result- 
ing at  railroad  grade  crossings  have  received  too  little  considera- 
tion. Railroads  have  within  reason  contributed  to  grade  separation 
cost,  but  many  times  better  servioe  oould  have  been  rendered  the 
general  public  if  more  oare  had  been  exercised  in  the  location  of  the 
highway.  The  opportunity  of  relocation  in  such  places  should  not  be 
overlooked. 

Possibly  before  the  advent  of  the  automobile,  bad  turns,  steep 
grades  or  poor  vision  did  not  contribute  materially  to  the  list  of 
highway  accidents.  The  increase  in  speed  of  the  transportation 
vehicle  now  should  caution  one  to  avoid, whereever  possible,  these 
several  undesirable  features. 

In  trying  to  secure  the  information  necessary  to  make  an  esti- 
mate of  the  cost  of  construction  for  the  alternate  routes,  three 
natural  divisions  of  the  work  were  possible,  namely;  bridges  and 
culverts,  earth  excavation, and  pavements*  In  the  note  book  a record 
was  kept  of  the  span,  height  and  roadway  of  all  drainage  structures, 
as  well  as  their  location  as  given  by  the  speedometer  reading.  On 
return  to  the  office  this  information  was  referred  to  the  standard 
bridge  plans  of  similar  dimensions.  By  this  comparison  it  was 
possible  to  very  closely  determine  the  quantities  of  materials  and 
later  estimate  the  cost.  Years  of  experience  in  grading  work  gave 
a good  basis  of  approximating  the  earth  excavation.  On  fairly  level 


—11— 


country  the  quantities  of  excavation  will  usually  run  between  three 
and  four  thousand  cubic  yards  per  mile.  This  was  the  general  con- 
dition found  between  Peoria  and  Chillicothe  although  the  same  class 
of  work  near  Spar land  was  very  much  heavier,  approaching  ten  to  twelve 
thousand  cubic  yards  to  the  mile. 

To  those  unfamiliar  with  highway  work  the  foregoing  approxima- 
tion of  quantities  in  bridges  and  earth  excavation  may  seem  crude  and 
inaccurate.  It  should  be  understood,  however,  that  more  than  ninety 
per  cent  of  the  cost  of  improvement  is  chargeable  to  surface  alone. 

In  other  words,  a large  variation  in  the  estimate  of  quantities  re- 
presenting ten  per  cent  of  the  work  is  of  no  consequence,  This  is 
especially  so  because  the  length  of  improvement  is  determinate  within 
one-tenth  of  a mile  in  any  distance  considered,  inasmuch  as  the  ac- 
tual mileage  cannot  be  in  error  by  more  than  the  smallest  possible 
reading  of  the  speedometer.  It  is  readily  understood  that  the  short- 
est road  is  usually  the  cheapest j not  only  that,  but  the  importance 
of  a short,  direct,  route  is  one  deserving  of  careful  attention.  In 
fact,  the  cost  of  final  construction  is  only  a small  sum, if  compared 

Vi- 
to the  burden  imposed  upon  future  traffic  should  they  be  obliged  to 

travel  unnecessary  distance. 

In  the  ohoice  of  detailed  location  on  the  Peoria-Henry  highway 
public  sentiment,  especially  in  Peoria,  expressed  a desire  to  have 
this  road  located  along  the  Illinois  River.  It  was  oont ended  that 
as  this  was  one  of  few  roads  in  a prairie  state  affording  any  scenic 

TtCvir  ^Vuv-u_ 

features,  drt  should  be  utilized.  The  entire  Division  of  Highways 
was  in  acoord  with  this  idea. 

On  Plate  1 may  be  found  a small  scale  map,  showing  the  highways 
between  Peoria  and  Henry,  on  which  is  indicated  the  recommended  loca- 


Plate  I 


Location  M ap 

Peoria-Henry  Highway 

FEDERAL  fl\o  Project  No.5. 


— — 13 — - 


tion  in  red.  Alternate  routes  investigated  are  represented  in 
colors.  In  general,  the  earn#  location  marks  the  route  of  the  com- 
pleted road  as  it  now  stands. 

The  engineering  work  necessary  before  arrangements  for  construc- 
tion or  letting  of  contracts,  really  means  a charting  of  the  condi~ 
tions  as  they  exist  so  accurately  that  they  can  be  transcribed  upon 
the  plans*  In  case  it  appears  desirable  to  conform  to  the  align- 
ment of  the  existing  road,  sufficient  information  must  be  secured 
to  enable  the  engineers  in  the  office  to  prepare  a plan  showing 
alignment,  turns,  width  of  highway,  streams,  size  and  location  of 
drainage  structures7 and  such  other  natural  features  as  may  influence 
design  and  location. 

IV.  SURVEYS. 

Inasmuch  as  the  general  features  made  it  necessary  to  conform 
largely  to  the  existing  road,  the  surveyors  proceeded  in  the  winter 
of  1917-1919  endeavoring  to  keep  their  transit  line  within  the  fence 
lines  and  arrange  for  tangents  of  such  length  as  would  insure  good 
riding  qualities  when  connected  with  standard  circular  curves  having 
tangent  distances  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Possibly  the  loca- 
tion of  the  road  was  influenced  by  the  value  of  adjacent  property. 
Further,  although  this  was  only  four  years  ago,  public  sentiment  for 
long  tangents  and  easy  turns  was  very  limited.  In  fact,  it  was  ex- 
ceedingly unpopular  to  think  of  obtaining  additional  right  of  way  for 
almost  any  purpose. 

The  determination  of  the  levels  was  preceded  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a series  of  bench  marks  placed  on  substantial  objects  at 
intervals  of  a quarter  mile  or  less.  This  method  insures  satisfac- 
tory work  when  cross -sections  are  taken.  It  also  minimizes  correc- 


w 


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— -lo- 


tions in  the  note  book,  as  such  error  in  elevation  can  be  detected,  by 
check  at  the  firet  bench  mark. 

The  surveyors  were  instructed  to  take  sections  every  one -hundred 
feet  and  at  such  other  points  as  were  indicative  of  unusual  condi- 
tions. Where  the  road  was  fairly  well  graded,  probably  seven  to 
nine  readings  were  sufficient.  Also  on  turns  or  narrow  highway, 
readings  were  provided  well  outside  the  fence  lines  so  as  to  afford 
information  for  an  office  (paper)  location  should  it  seem  desirable. 

In  establishing  the  grade  a center  line  profile  is  important;  for 
that  reason,  a rod  reading  was  taken  at  each  station  on  the  transit 
line  or  such  other  pluses  as  seemed  of  unusual  elevation  or  depres- 
sion. 

No  sooner  were  surveys  under  way  than  unusual  difficulties  were 
encountered  in  securing  sufficient  width  for  the  highway.  Not  only 
was  the  width  insufficient,  but  the  general  fence  alignment  was  so 
irregular  that  it  was  apparently  inpossible  to  secure  good  alignment 
without  marked  adjustment  of  the  fence  lines.  A perusal  of  the 
records  in  Peoria  County  revealed  that  this  particular  road  had  been 
dedicated  as  a highway  in  the  year  183?  with  a width  of  four  poles 
(rods).  A copy,  true  to  punctuation,  wording  and  spelling,  of  a 
portion  of  these  original  records  may  be  of  interest: 

STATE  ROAD  FROM  PEORIA  IN  PEORIA  COUNTY 

TO 

PRINCETON  IN  PUTNAM  COUNTY 

FIELD  NOTES:-  Beginning  at  Peoria,  thence  with  the  Peoria  and  Galena 
Road  State  road  to  a point  at  B oak  in  said  road  on  bank  of  small 
stream  near  North  East  corner  of  said  Section  37,  Town  10  North, 

Range  8 East  of  the  4th  principal  meridian  10  miles,-  thence  N 50,00 
E,  113P,  N 37  E,  1 M 331  P,  N 44  E,  3 m,  130  poles,-  N 18  E passing 
through  3rd  street,  and  public  square,  at  186  P,  of  Roms  Peoria 
County,  1 M 36  P,  N 30  E,  to  3rd  street,  of  Chillicothe  1 M 300  P,- 
N 18  E passing  through  said  street  23  P,  N 1 M,  66  P ,-N  7 E, 


---14 — - 

crossing  Senachwine  at  30  P,  1 M 8 P,«*N8i  W 110  poles, -N  3?£  W 40  P, 
N 6 W 118  F,-N  31 £ W 1 M,  3 P,-N  3 miles  18  poles,-  N 33  E 80  P- 
N 18  W 3 M 76  P,  N l£  E,  7 M 360  P,  N 33  W 96  P,  N 13  W,  78  P, 
crossing  Crow  Creek  at  38  P,-  near  North  West  corner  Sec*  33,  14  N 
(9  E thence  N 3 E 176  P,~  N 33  E 1 M 134  P,-  N 5 E 3 M 314  P,  cross- 
ing title  Senachwine  at  3 M 86  P,  thence  N 15  W,  356  N 19  E 30  P,- 

N 30  W 160  P-N  11  W 88  P,-XN  83  W rising  bluff  36  P.-N  27  W 78  P,- 
N 2 E 43  P,  N 4 E 106  P.~N  13  W,  34  P,-  N 40  W to  State  Street  in 
Windsor  86  P North  through  said  street  98  P,-  30  W to  range  line 
between  sections  1 2 and  7 Town  15  North  Range  8 and  9 East  thence 
North  with  said  line  164  P,  N 69  E crosang  Bureau  at  Bridge  16  poles 
N 9 W 308  P,  N 33  E 40  P,  IT  56  East  316  Poles, -N  69  E 304  Poles- 

N 36  E 230  P N 30  E 88^  P,  N 13  E 116  P,-N  14  E 314  P,-to  Main  Street 

in  Princeton-  distance  from  Peoria  to  County  line  between  Peoria 

and  Putnam  21  miles  34  poles;  from  said  line  to  Princeton  38  miles 

54  poles;  whole  distance  49  miles  88  poles. 

I certify  the  above  to  be  a true  plat  and  field  notes  of  the 
survey  of  a State  road  by  me  made  under  the  direction  of  Augustus 
Lang  worthy  and  Hiram  Cleveland  commissioners  to  locate  said  road 
from  Peoria  in  Peoria  County  to  Princeton  in  Putnam  County,  Illinois. 

Stephen  Smith,  Surveyor. 

Report  of  road  from  Peoria  to  Princeton,  we  the  undersigned 
appointed  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
entitled  "An  act  to  locate  a State  road  from  Peoria  by  Rome  and 
Chillicothe  in  Peoria  County,  to  Princeton  in  Putnam  County,  passed 
at  their  last  session,  commenced  on  the  first  Monday  1836  as  com- 
missioners to  locate  said  road  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  said 

Act,  met  at  the  house  of  David  Ridgeway  in  Peoria  County  on  Tuesday 
the  3rd  day  of  April  1837,  and  after  being  duly  sworn  according  to 
the  law  before  Lewis  Scoville,  Esquire,  an  Acting  Justice  of  the 
Peace  in  and  for  said  Peoria  County,  proceeded  to  view  and  locate 
said  road  by  marking  the  same  by  two  parallel  lines  of  stakes  and 
blazes  four  poles  asunder  placing  mile  posts  on  the  East  line  of 
said  road  on  which  were  marked  the  distance  from  Peoria,  the  courses 
and  distances  from  point  to  point  of  said  road  being  notes  on  the 
annexed  plat  of  survey  of  same  reported  to  us  by  Stephen  Smith 
surveyor  and  herewith  reported  by 

Augustus  Langworthy 

Hiram  Cleveland. 

A casual  check  of  the  new  center  line  with  this  record  indi- 

a- 

cated  that  possibly  fifty  per  cent  of  the  new  location  conformed 
to  the  original  layout.  As  most  monuments  were  gone  and  variations 
were  so  marked,  it  was  thought  best  to  adopt  a policy  of  amicable 
agreement  for  the  added  right  of  way  rather  than  contend  for  the 
original  width.  A great  deal  of  this  added  width  was  donated  by 
interested  land  owners  or  secured  at  a nominal  figure.  In  the  ad- 


c 


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15 — 


just  merit  b on  this  project,  it  was  necessary  to  make  settlement  with 

more  than  thirty  individuals -and  it  was  particularly  gratifying  to 

) 

adjust  these  differences  agreeably  with  the  exception  of  two  cases, 
both  of  which  comprised  new  location  of  a very  radical  nature  to 
avoid  two  right  angle  turns  each. 

Due  to  the  rugged  country  encountered  near  Sparland,  the  surveys 
were  slow  and  difficult  although  other  portions  gave  evidence  of  sat- 
isfactory progress.  A word  of  caution  may  be  added  about  progress  on 
surveys.  Instructions  from  the  district  office  to  engineers  in  the 
field  were  to  the  effect  that  a good,  accurate,  detailed  survey  with 
well  chosen  alignment,  was  more  to  be  desired  than  a low  cost* 

V.  DESIGN  OF  PLANS. 

The  highway  in  vicinity  of  Peoria  or  Chillicothe  was  of  such  a 
nature  that  permanent  construction  could  be  handled  readily.  In  fact 
the  main  highway  was  heavily  traveled  and  had  from  time  to  time  been 
partially  graveled.  Several  of  the  drainage  structures,  although 
small,  had  been  constructed  previous  to  our  taking  up  the  work.  The 
earth  grading  was  fairly  satisfactory;  at  any  rate,  the  maximum 
grading  at  any  one  point  did  not  exceed  two  and  a half  tc  three  feet. 
Some  drainage  had  been  taken  care  of.  Further,  the  general  varia- 
tion in  alignment  was  of  no  importance.  In  view  of  these  general 
conditions,  the  Division  of  Highways  felt  justified  in  preparing 
plans  for  a permanent -surface^  road  sixteen  feet  wide  with  a twenty- 
six  foot  graded  cross-sect  ion# 

The  explanation  of  these  plane  possibly  can  best  be  undertaken 
by  inserting  a representative  sheet  of  plan  and  corresponding  cross- 
sections,  drawn  to  a slightly  smaller  scale,  which  are  indicated  as 
Plates  II  and  III.  They  were  prepared  in  conformity  to  the  require- 


/ 


Plate  II 


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ments  of  the  Federal  Office  of  Public  Road®  for  the  reason  that,  as 
this  was  to  be  a federal-aid  road,  all  work  must  be  in  accord  with 
the  federal  standards*  The  arrangement  of  having  the  plan  on  the 
upper  portion  of  the  sheet  with  the  grade  line  and  center  line  pro- 
file beneath  is  entirely  logical.  Attention  is  invited  on  Plate  II 
to  the  circular  curve©  provided  to  improve  the  alignment;  also  the 
curve  correction  for  distance  which  is  shortened  by  curve  measure- 
ments. On  this  same  sheet  you  will  find  not  only  adequate  curve 
data  for  the  assistance  of  the  engineers  on  construction,  but  sug- 
gested superelevation  for  banking  the  circular  curves  as  well* 

Experience  indicated  that  this  superelevation  secured  by  ro- 
tating the  pavement  on  its  central  axis,  should  be  a maximum  at  the 
point  of  curvature  and  be  maintained  uniformly  around  the  curve  until 
the  point  of  tangency  is  reached.  On  the  earlier  work  this  banking 
was  secured  by  a gradual  change  in  elevation,  beginning  at  a point 
seventy-five  feet  back  of  the  point  of  curvature  and  in  a similar 
reduction  again  after  reaching  the  point  of  tangency.  Much  better 
results  were  secured  in  changing  from  level  cross  section©  to  full 
elevation  in  a distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The  general 
appearance  was  more  pleasing  and  the  riding  qualities  much  Improved. 

By  means  of  the  profile  of  the  center  line  as  shown  on  the  lower 
half  of  Plate  II  and  a liberal  use  of  the  cross- section©  as  shown  on 
Plate  III,  a tentative  pencil  grade  line  was  established  by  engineers 
in  the  office.  Before  proceeding  further,  a piece  of  heavy  cellu- 
loid, cut  to  the  scale  of  the  cross-section,  is  fashioned  to  conform 
to  the  standard  section  selected  for  the  road0  By  placing  this 
upon  the  cross-section  at  the  elevation indicated  on  the  tenta- 
tive grade  line,  a light  pencil  line  may  be  drawn  and  the  areas  of 


— -17 

cut  and  fill  determined  by  means  of  a planimeter. 

The  grade  lire  location  is  important  and  is  deserving  of  the 
careful  attention  of  experienced  engineers  and  designers.  In  brief, 
an  effort  must  be  made  to  have  a sightly  appearance  with  only  a nomi- 
nal amount  of  excavation.  Short,  jerky  pieces  of  straight  grade 
are  to  be  avoided*  Vertical  curves  are  a necessity  and  add  much  to 
the  riding  qualities.  In  general  the  grade  line  should  be  made  to 
conform  to  the  ground  line  as  closely  as  possible,  commensurate  with 
good  drainage  , combining  long  tangents  with  smooth  vertical  curves. 

To  secure  a grade  line  of  properly  balanced  quantities,  several 
tentative  lines  are  usually  necessary  before  a proper  relation  of 
areas  of  cut  and  fill  are  secured.  In  explanation  of  the  prelimin- 
ary work,  permit  the  statement  that  the  reduction  of  areas  to  quanti- 
ties is  unnecessary  in  all  trial  work  for  the  reason  that  they  are 
proportional  to  the  quantities.  In  appreciation  of  the  shrinkage  or 
waste  that  occurs  in  earth  excavation,  an  excess  of  cut  over  fill 
must  be  allowed.  In  heavy  grading,  such  as  heavy  cuts  where  steam 
shovels  are  used,  an  excess  of  ten  to  twelve  per  cent  is  allowed. 

From  this  small  percentage,  the  allowable  per  cent  should  be  increase*: 
up  to  as  high  as  thirty  or  thirty-five  per  cent  for  the  light  grading 
in  a level  country. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  arrange  convenient  balance  points  not 
more  than  seven  hundred  to  a thousand  feet  apart.  Adjacent  to  the 

profile  and  grade  line  shown  on  Plate  II,  will  be  found  balance  points 
indicated  together  with  the  quantity  of  both  cut  and  fill.  No  allow- 
ance or  provision  is  made  in  the  specifications  for  overhaul  of  ma- 
terial in  excavation  so  that  should  unusually  long  stretches  of  un- 
balanced quant  i ties  be  encountered,  the  contractor  must  take  them  in- 


18 


to  consideration  in  the  unit  price  submitted.  The  fact  that  Illinois 
is  a rather  level  state  with  normally  light  grading,  makes  many  en- 
gineers reluctant  to  undertake  heavy  grading  even  when  a point  of 
naximum  grade  is  involved.  In  general  a limiting  grade  of  seven  per 

* A-, 

sent  was  suggested  with  five  per  cent  grade  given  preference  providing 
the  quantity  of  excavation  is  within  reaeon.  For  example,  the  maxi- 
num  grade  between  Peoria  and  Henry  is  not  over  five  and  one-half  per 
sent  and  that  occurs  only  on  a short  stretch  less  than  three  hundred 
feet  in  length. 

In  contrast  to  the  more  level  main  high?/ays,Xwere  found  several 
niles  of  road  near  Spar  land  that  were  little  more  than  & trail,  avail- 
able for  traffic  during  only  a few  of  the  summer  months.  Changes  in 
Line  and  relocation  were  so  radical,  due  to  the  rugged  nature  of  the 
sountry,  that  the  location  resolved  itself  into  a problem  of  design 
with  the  best  grade  and  alignment.  As  might  be  expected  no  bridges 
3 f value  were  in  place  and  the  quantity  of  excavation  per  mile  often 
axceeded  ten  thousand  yards.  Even  by  careful  methods  of  compacting 
the  fills,  it  was  felt  sure  uneven  settlement  would  occur  to  the  detrijj- 
nent  of  any  pavement.  For  these  reasons,  the  policy  of  constructing 
■ill  bridges  and  grading  in  advance  of  the  sur facing  was  adopted  on 
Sections  D,  G and  E. 

VI.  ESTIMATES. 

In  the  general  progress  from  survey  to  construction,  it  was 
found  desirable  to  divide  a long  highway  into  several  divisions  for 
sonvenience  in  handling  the  field  work.  Apparently  no  advantage  was 
to  be  had  in  arranging  these  divisions  or  sections  of  greater  length 
;han  one  contractor  could  conveniently  finish  in  a season.  Again, 

railroad  facilities  were  so  limited  that  it  was  unusual  to  find  any  un 


loading  point  that  could  accommodate  more  than  one  contractor  at  a tine 
Dn  the  first  federal-aid  roads,  the  counties  contributed  a third  of  j 
the  cost  of  improvement  and  it  was  desirable  to  keep  this  work  in  a 
separate  contract.  In  this  Peoria-Kenry  Project  the  natural  differ- 
ence in  the  character  of  the  work  made  a further  separation  necessary. 

All  arrangements  for  financial  affairs  were  co npleted  in  the  fall 
of  1918,  but  progress  during  1918  was  delayed  ai  account  of  the  war. 
After  much  effort,  it  was  late  summer  before  Section  "K.w  was  up  for 
letting.  After  the  award  of  contract,  sufficient  time  remained  to 
complete  only  one  third  of  it.  In  fact,  it  was  not  until  early 
Ispring  of  1919  that  continuous  construction  was  undertaken® 

I 

The  accepted  practice  was  for  the  District  Engineer  tc  prepare 
an  estimate  of  cost  of  constructing  each  section  of  pavement.  This 
estimate,  together  with  the  co npleted  plans,  to  be  forwarded  to  the 
Engineer  of  Design  for  a final  check.  In  presenting  this  report,  a 
detailed  statement  was  given  with  proper  summation;  also  a brief  sum- 
mary of  work  to  be  done  was  prepared  for  the  Chief  Highway  Engineer. 

In  the  blank  proposals  for  paving  sections  sent  out  previous  to 
the  letting,  alternate  bids  were  asked  on  three  types  of  permanent 

S 

pavement,  namely;  Portland  cement  concrete,  monolithic  brick,  and 
bituminous  concrete.  All  bids  submitted  were  on  Portland  cement 
concrete  with  the  understanding  that  they  included  all  materials, 
labor,  machinery  and  incidental  equipment  except  cement  which  was  to 
be  delivered  by  the  State  at  the  railroad  siding. 

In  the  following  tabulated  form.  Table  III,  is  a list  of  the 
several  sections  together  with  the  engineer* s estimate,  name  of 
bidder  and  the  amount  bid.  The  value  of  the  cement  is  not  included 
in  the  bids  or  engineer0®  estimates. 


TABULATION  OF  BIDS  RECEIVED  ON  PROJECT  5. 


— ~20 


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-“32-  — 


The  contract  will  not  be  discussed  except  one  general  item, 
that  of  unit  prices  required  in  the  proposal.  In  the  space  provided 
in  the  proposal,  the  several  items  of  work,  i.e.,  quantities  of  earth 
excavation,  earth  borrow,  pavement,  concrete,  reinforcing  steel  and 
such  others  as  may  be  necessary  are  listed  and  in  submitting  the  bid, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  contractor  to  give  a unit  price  for  each  classi- 
fication. The  sum  of  the  products  obtained  by  multiplying  the  quan- 
tity by  the  unit  price  for  each  classification  should  represent  the 
lump  sum  cost  of  the  work.  It  was  on  these  same  unit  prices  that 
the  monthly  payment  estimates  were  based  and  the  value  of  extras  and 
additions  to  the  contract  computed. 

VII.  ENGINEERING  SUPERVISION  OF  CONSTRUCTION. 

In  perfecting  a working  engineering  organization,  the  Division 
of  Highways,  had  really  separated  itself  into  two  natural  divisions; 
one  administrative,  the  other  constructive.  The  main  office  in 
Springfield  formulated  the  general  policies,  passed  judgment  upon 
specifications  or  general  problems, and  through  the  Bureau  Chiefs  ex- 
tended a consulting  hand  to  the  District  Engineer,  who  was  responsi- 
ble for  the  general  field  construction. 

Previous  to  1917,  the  field  engineering  had  been  handled  by 
young  technical  engineers,  many  of  whom  had  become  proficient  in  the 
construction  work.  However,  most  of  these  were  away  in  the  army 
when  the  demand  for  experienced  men  came  and  those  available  were  of 
unknown  ability.  In  an  effort  to  utilize  to  greatest  advantage  the 
few  experienced  ones,  they  were  appointed  resident  engineers  with 
responsible  charge  of  twelve  to  twenty  miles  of  improvement.  In  all 
cases  they  were  supplied  with  assistants  sufficient  in  number  to  in- 
sure personal  contact  with  every  piece  of  construction.  All  field 


23 


questions  of  these  assistants  or  inspectors  were  referred  to  the 
Resident  Engineer* 

To  assist  the  main  office  in  keeping  in  touch  with  the  progress, 
weekly  report©  showing  amount  of  completed  work  and  general  activi- 
ties were  prepared  by  the  Resident  Engineer  and  forwarded  to  Peoria. 
Here  these  were  checked,  triplicate  copies  prepared,  one  of  which  was 
forwarded  to  the  Federal  District  Engineer  in  Chicago,  and  duplicates 
were  advanced  to  the  Springfield  Department. 

When  construction  was  undertaken  on  such  a large  scale,  involv- 
ing an  extensive  organization,  frequent  visit®  and  much  personal  su- 
pervision were  necessary  from  the  District  Engineer, if  uniformity  of 
results  was  to  be  secured*  At  these  visits,  a rough  check  was  made 
of  the  correctness  of  the  weekly  report©  on  construction.  Also,  it 
was  usually  found  that  the  Resident  Engineers  had  many  important 
questions  on  which  they  desired  information. 

As  set  forth  in  the  specifications,  it  was  necessary  to  arrange 
monthly  estimates  to  the  contractor  on  the  basis  of  payment  of  ninety 
per  cent  of  the  value  of  completed  work.  The  volume  of  this  work 
was  taken  from  the  report  of  the  engineer  in  the  field.  The  payment 
estimate  when  prepared  was  carefully  checked;  whereupon*  it  was  for- 
warded  to  the  Engineer  of  Construction  where  arrangement©  were  made 
for  prompt  payment. 

The  first  years  subsequent  to  the  war  were  times  full  of  uncer- 
tainty for  the  contractor.  The  Division  of  Highways  appreciative  of 
the  circumstances  contributing  to  the  delays,  adopted  a liberal  pol- 
icy of  time  limit  of  construction.  It  was  only  in  rare  instances 
that  the  engineers  were  obliged  to  insist  upon  more  effort.  Should 


a few  casual  suggestions  not  produce  the  desired  results,  a letter 


1 


v . . 


■ . ' ; : 


—34— 


was  sent  from  the  District  Engineer9®  office,  inviting  the  attention 
of  the  contractor  to  specific  items  that  had  been  neglected.  Fail- 
ure on  the  part  of  the  contractor  to  correct  hie  errors  or  to  pro- 
ceed with  construction  satisfactorily,  called  for  a detailed  report 
to  the  Engineer  of  Construction.  It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  all 
contracts  on  Project  5 were  completed  in  an  agreeable,  friendly  man- 
ner* 

When  work  was  completed  in  every  detail,  all  parties  interested, 
contractor,  construction  engineer  and  federal  government  were  advised 
and  a day  of  final  inspection  was  arranged.  In  an  effort  to  adjust 
the  question  of  additions  and  deductions  and  have  the  final  estimate 
in  readiness  for  immediate  release  after  final  inspection,  an  item- 
ized statement  of  each  contract  was  presented  to  the  contractor  for 
approval.  In  brief,  this  statement  indicated  the  value  of  the  ori- 
ginal contract  as  awarded;and  was  supplemented  with  a detailed  analy- 
sis showing  the  location,  character  and  value  of  all  changes.  By 
this  arrangement,  there  was  no  possibility  of  confusion  or  misunder- 
standing. As  required  by  law,  the  contractor  was  required  to  supply 
the  Department  with  an  affidavit  to  the  effect  that  all  sums  due  for 
materials,  equipment  and  labor,  had  been  paid.  This  affidavit  ac- 
companied the  final  payment  estimate. 

An  engineering  work  as  large  as  that  undertaken  by  the  Division 
of  Highways  for  the  federal-aid  program,  was  one  involving  a large 
amount  of  standard  construction.  The  general  engineering  work  was 
so  standardized  that  it  could  all  be  handled  along  standard  lines. 
Then  too,  under  such  conditions,  much  of  the  work  might  be  turned  over 

to  the  less  experienced  engineers^  '“the  more  experienced  members  of 
the  organization  being  intrusted  with  the  general  supervision  or 


25 


assigned  to  the  solution  of  special  problems  involving  oomplicatedL 
design. 

VIII.  SPECIAL  FEATURES  OF  CONSTRUCTION. 

Most  of  the  way  from  Peoria  to  Chillicothe,  the  highway  winds 
in  and  out  in  some  measure  conforming  to  the  shore  line  of  the  Ill- 
inois River,  but  with  space  enough  between  to  permit  improvements  on 
the  river  side,  except  for  a distance  of  about  one-half  mile  near 
Rome.  Some  years  ago , prior  to  the  federal-aid  construction,  the 
County  of  Peoria  haul  erected  a concrete  gravity  wall  as  a protection 
to  the  more  exposed  point.  After  this  work,  yet  previous  to  the 
surveys,  the  encroachment  of  high  water  had  made  it  apparent  that 
added  protection  was  necessary  if  the  work  was  to  be  secured  against 
future  floods. 

A detailed  study  of  the  conditions  indicated  the  impracticabil- 
ity of  gravity  wall  protection*  It  was  felt  that  a six  inch  re- 
inforced concrete  slope— wall  built  on  a slope  of  one  to  one,  with 
its  toe  dug  three  or  four  feet  into  the  river  bed,  which  was  shallow 
at  this  point  and  dry  in  low  water  season,  would  furnish  anpl©  pro- 
tection. With  these  ideas  in  mind,  concrete  was  placed  in  the 
summer  of  1919$  and  probably  not  more  than  ten  per  cent  of  this  work 
remained  unfinished  at  the  close  of  the  season. 

The  early  spring  floods  of  1930  came  in  March  and  continued  at 
the  flood  stage  for  several  days.  Coincident  with  the  flood  oame 
wind  storms  of  unusual  severity  which  produced  extremely  high  waves 
in  the  river.  In  extreme  flood  stage  the  width  of  the  river  approx' 
imates  three  miles, so  that  under  wind  conditions,  the  wave  act ion 
was  so  intense  as  to  cause  damage  to  earth  fill  and  concrete  wall. 

The  attached  pictures  are  indicative  of  conditions. 


Gravity  Wall  Tilted  Out. 

Coarse  Aggregate  in  Place  for  Pavement  Construct ion. 


PHOTOGRAPHS 

OF 

DAMAGED  GRAVITY  WALL 


Flood  Conditions  Showing  a Breach  in 
Old  Gravity  Protection  Wall 


- 


V -'V.,  iO 


■ 


Constructing  Concrete  Slope-wall  in  Front  of  Gravity  Wall® 


PHOTOGRAPHS 

OF 

CONCRETE  PROTECTION  WALL 


Concrete  Slope-wall  After  Flood  Receded. 


— - 28-* — 
PHOTOGRAPHS 


OF 

COMPLETED  CONCRETE  PROTECTION  WALL 


Gravity  Wall  Reinforced  by  Concrete  Slope 
With  New  Guard  Rail  on  Top. 


View  of  Highway  Showing  Completed  Pavement 
and  Concrete  Guard  Rail. 


— — - 


Plot®  TV 


- 


/907 

77 

— 

— 1 

- 

— 

77 

76 

76 

75 

75 

~<£>/7e/t7/y2>3  24  23  26  27 

• 29 

When  the  river  lowered  sufficiently  to  permit  inspection,  engin- 
eers from  the  local  office  made  a careful  survey  of  the  conditions. 
Probably  twenty  per  cent  of  the  gravity  wall  had  been  destroyed  and 
an  equal  per  cent  of  the  new  elope— wall  protection  was  gone.  Further 
portions  of  the  river  bank  and  beaches,  apparently  secure  before, 
were  destroyed  to  such  an  extent  that  the  existence  of  the  highway 
was  endangered. 

At  the  crest  of  the  floods,  records  indicated  the  elevation  of 
the  finished  roadway  was  about  one  foot  above  the  water.  Inasmuch 
as  the  pounding  of  the  waves  had  destroyed  much  of  the  earth  fill  and 
concrete,  it  was  suggested  to  raise  the  elevation  of  the  crown  of  fin- 
ished roadway  two  feet  over  that  shown  on  the  original  plans.  In 
later  investigations  it  was  hoped  to  determine  the  frequency  of  ex- 
cessive flood  conditions.  On  the  basis  of  the  records  of  the  Peoria 
Branch  of  the  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau,  charts  were  prepared  showing  the 
height,  duration  and  frequency  of  floods  which  had  previously  oc- 
curred. Attention  is  invited  to  Plate  IV,  which  represents  in 
graphic  form  the  flood  conditions  for  the  past  twenty-nine  years,  in 
which  flood  stages  of  twenty  feet  or  over,  Peoria  datum,  have  been 
recorded. 

By  a study  of  the  gauge  readings  taken  in  Peoria  and  comparison 

■ _ 

of  these  with  the  survey  elevations,  it  appeared  a flood  stage  of 

twenty  feet,  Peoria  datum,  was  equivalent  to  the  survey  elevation  of 

AA 

seventy-six  feet.  For  convenience  the  curve©  given  in  Fable  III  are 

on  the  basis  of  the  survey  level  datum. 

While  this  study  was  under  way,  two  alternate  plan©  presented 
themselves.  It  was  suggested  to  abandon  whatever  work  had  been  done 
on  the  original  alignment  and  choose  one  of  two  possible  locations 


—.30 

farther  west,  one  location  parallel  to  and  immediately  east  of  the 
Hock  Island  Railroad  tracks,  the  other  similar  in  nature  but  lying 
on  the  west  side  of  the  railroad.  Each  had  the  particular  merit  of 
security  from  action  of  the  river;  but  extended  through  private  pro- 
perty which  gave  promise  of  unusual  difficulties  and  expense  if  right' 
of- way  was  to  be  secured.  Again,  existing  improvements  would  be 
served  only  indirectly.  Public  sentiment  asserted  itself  in  behalf 
of  the  original  road  to  the  extent  that  the  Division  of  Highways 
chose  to  Keep  the  road  in  the  original  location,  much  preferring  to 
expend  funds  for  protection  against  the  river  rather  than  to  purchase 
new  right-of-way  for  one  of  the  alternate  routes. 

With  the  location  fixed,  it  became  the  duty  of  the  engineers  to 
design  a protectiom  device  that  would  be  effective  yet  nominal  in  cos  . 

To  increase  stability,  the  slope  of  new  work  was  increased  from  one 

ok  ***■ 

to  one,  to  one  and  one-half  to  one.  Further,  all  hew  slope-wall 
was  reinforced  with  three-eighths^inch  square  bars  spaced  twenty-four  ■ 
inch  centers  in  each  direction.  Those  segments  that  remained  in 
good  condition  were  strengthened  by  extending  the  concrete  at  least 
four  feet  below  the  bed  of  the  river  in  proximity  of  the  shore. 

In  perfecting  the  design,  two  special  features  were  considered 
favorably:  one  was  the  paving  with  six-inch  concrete  of  the  earth 
shoulder  lying  between  the  concrete  highway  and  the  slope-wall,  the 
other  was  the  construction  of  a concrete  guard-fence  consisting  of 
an  eight—inch  wall  built  vertically  and  monolithically  with  the 
slope-wall  to  a height  of  two  feet  above  the  pavement. 

The  delay  consequent  to  these  many  important  changes,  together 
with  the  radical  increase  in  the  amount  of  concrete,  made  the  con- 
tractor reluctant  to  undertake  the  construction  of  the  added  work  at 


: \ 


- v*  v- 


v ! i t: 


. * v»  '• 


. . J v. 


- , • r 


31 — 


the  proposal  figures.  Possibly  under  the  legal  rights  of  the  con- 
tract, the  contractor  would  have  been  obliged  to  proceed  under  the 
clauses  governing  the  original  contract,  place  the  concrete  slope- 
wall  at  the  unit  prices  given  in  the  contract,  replace  the  destroyed 
portions  of  the  old  wall , and  replace  without  additional  compensation 
all  earth  shoulders  or  fill  that  had  been  destroyed  by  the  wave  ac- 
tion. 

Obviously  any  adjustments  along  these  suggested  lines,  although 
legal,  would  have  been  arbitrary  and  unfair  to  the  holder  of  the 
original  contract.  In  appreciation  of  the  unforeseen  river  condition 
as  well  as  difficulties  attending  war-time  construction,  the  Division 
of  Highways  arranged  for  full  payment  of  all  completed  work* and,  in 
addition,  allowed  an  item  for  damages  caused  by  failure  to  render  de- 
cisions promptly.  The  question  of  river  protection  was  finally  agree 
ably  adjusted  when  arrangements  were  made  to  have  the  Department  com- 
plete the  work  by  day  labor* 

As  the  summer  drew  on,  portions  of  the  pavement  were  completed 
which  gave  the  workmen  an  opportunity  to  take  up  both  the  repairs  and 
new  construction.  A camp  was  established  and  the  entire  work  placed 
in  the  hands  of  an  experienced  foreman  who  conducted  the  work,  met  all 
pay  rolls  or  construction  expenses^ and  was  in  responsible  charge  of 
the  general  character  and  progress  of  the  work,  subject,  however,  to 
the  direction  of  the  District  Engineer.  After  the  weekly  payment  of 
expenditures,  a pay-roll  statement  was  submitted  to  the  local  office 
for  approval.  Rei mbur semen t to  the  foreman  was  made  from  the  State 
Auditor  usually  within  ten  days  from  the  receipt  of  the  pay  roll 
stat emento 

In  spite  of  the  late  start,  the  weather  encountered  in  the  win— 


..j 


1 


ter  of  1920-1921  permitted  .the  placing  of  concrete  almost  every  day 
ao  that  the  work  was  fully  completed  before  spring,  as  per  plan, 
with  the  exception  that  the  paving  of  the  earth  shoulder  was  omitted. 
The  total  value  of  the  work  as  finished  approximated  $50,000. 

A general  idea  of  the  improvement  may  be  gained  by  observation 
of  the  accompanying,  photographs  on  pages  36  , 37  and  28. 

At  the  time  of  original  choice  of  location,  the  moat  ardent  sup- 
porters of  grade  elimination  could  only  hope  for  future  development 
at  the  point  the  highway  crosses  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  in  Chilli- 
cothe.  Two  years  had  not  elapsed  before  the  importance  of  eliminat- 
ing these  several  tracks  (two  main  and  six  switch)  became  so  apparent 
that  local  authorities  presented  a petition  to  the  Public  Utilities 
Commission.  A date  of  preliminary  hearing  was  set  on  which  the  prin- 
cipal parties  virtually  settled  their  differences  on  the  basis  of 
division  of  work;  i«  e«,  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  was  to  assume  the 
responsibility  of  constructing  and  maintaining  the  subway  structure 
and  drainage  system  necessary  thereto.  The  state,  county,  township 
and  village  were  to  do  the  excavation,  complete  the  paving  and  assume* 
future  maintenance  on  the  same.  As  an  agreement  was  reached  amica- 
bly, it  was  only  necessary  for  th8  Public  Utilities  Commission  to 
confirm  the  understanding  by  an  order  for  grade  separation. 

In  the  first  plan  of  improvement,  two  alternate  ideas  were  ap- 
parent; one  the  construction  of  a subway,  the  other  the  construc- 
tion of  an  overhead  crossing.  In  tentative  estimates,  the  over- 
head crossing  figured  more  than  $30,000  the  cheaper.  Strangely  en- 
ough, there  was  not  a single  advocate  for  such  a type.  Possibly 
the  unsightliness  of  such  a scheme  influenced  everyone  in  expressing 
a preference  for  the  subway. 


The  unusual  number  of  tracks  made  an  excessive  amount  of  exoava- 
tion?as  the  distance  from  end  to  end  of  ties  gf  the  outer  tracks  was 
more  than  one  hundred  feet.  Unfortunately  the  grade  of  the  tracks 
at  the  old  highway  orossing  was  two  or  three  feet  below  the  profile 
of  the  road.  The  general  idea  of  the  Public  Utility  Commission  re- 
quired a minimum  clearance  of  fourteen  feet  which,  after  allowance 
was  made  for  depth  of  superstructure,  necessitated  the  earth  being 
removed  to  a grade  which  was  eighteen  feet  below  the  top  of  rail. 

The  present  siding  tracks,  six  in  number,  were  utilized  as  stor- 
age for  the  freight  cars  which  collect  at  the  freight  division  and 
ample  right-of- way , four^hundred  feet  in  width,  was  available  for 
future  development  at  such  time  as  the  freight  traffic  warranted* 
Inasmuch  as  freight  traffic  in  1919  and  1930  was  of  enormous  volume, 
it  seemed  logical  to  arrange  a length  of  subway  excavation  that  would 
accommodate  additional  traoks  in  the  future.  Briefly,  the  prelimin- 
ary plans  for  grade  separation  involved  a subway  excavation  four « hun- 
dred feet  in  length  exclusive  of  four  per  cent  approach  grades,  twen- 
ty-four-feet clear  roadway  with  a minimum  clearance  of  fourteen  feet. 
When  detailed  plans  wereprepared  with  side  slopes  of  one  and  one-half 
to  one,  the  total  volume  of  out  was  estimated  at  36,500  cubic  yards. 

The  contract  for  Section  M had  been  partially  completed  with 
practically  no  work  in  the  vicinity  of  the  tracks.  It  was  expected 
that  some  delays  would  occur  which  would  cause  considerable  loss  to 
the  paving  contractor.  To  obviate  this  and  insure  him  against  added 
cost,  a supplementary  contraot  was  executed  known  as  Section  **M-1'’ 
which  covered  the  earth  grading  in  the  subway  proper  as  well  as  other 
earthwork  extending  north  for  one -fourth  mile  beyond  the  ends  of  the 
approach  grades*  As  "there  were  several  thousand  yards  of  material 


34 

to  waste  * it  was  thought  desirable  to  utilize  a portion  of  it  in  im- 
proving the  grade  and  alignment  near  a bridge  at  that  point. 

In  arranging  for  an  award  of  this  work,  bids  from  private  con- 
tractors were  requested  on  three  general  classes  of  work,  namely; 
excavation  south  of  the  tracks,  excavation  beneath  the  tracks. and 
excavation  north  of  the  tracks.  After  due  consideration,  award  was 
made  to  the  Federal  Paving  Company,  whose  bid  price  was  $1.00,  $3.00 
and  $0.75  respectively.  During  the  progress  of  work,  conditions 
made  necessary  a fourth  classification  which  will  be  explained  later. 

The  indicated  difference  in  price  of  materials  north  and  south 
of  the  tracks  was  because  of  anticipated  difficulty  in  disposing  of 
the  excavation  which  must  be  wasted.  The  contractor  had  hardly  be- 
gun with  his  steam  shovel  when  an  excellent  gravel  deposit  was  en- 
countered. This  material,  which  probably  represented  ninety  per 
cent  of  the  total  quantity,  consisted  of  a fairly  clean,  dry  gravel 
ranging  in  size  from  two  and  one-half  inch  diameter  to  coarse  sand. 

The  contractor  was  able  to  profitably  dispose  of  several  thousand 
yard®  of  this  road  gravel  for  street  purposes  in  the  Village  of 
Chillicothe. 

As  the  working  season  advanced  and  men  and  teams  became  more 
plentiful,  a second  shovel  was  placed  at  work  on  the  north  side  of 
the  tracks.  It  was  necessary, on  account  of  the  extreme  top  width, 
to  out  three  swaths  with  each  shovel,  two  of  about  nine -foot  depth 
removing  the  upper  layer  and  a later  oenter-cut  down  to  grade.  As 
each  shovel  approached  the  tracks,  they  increased  the  depth  of  excava- 
tion until  they  were  probably  as  much  as  four  feet  below  the  grade 
required.  In  this  hole  it  was  proposed  to  waste  the  excavation 
which  was  later  to  be  removed  from  beneath  the  tracks. 


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(Is  traffic  must  be  maintained  at  all  times,  ser  the  Santa  Fe,  in  ad- 
vance of  work  on  the  concrete  abutments,  started  to  drive  piles  for 

h 

the  falsework  on  the  north  tracks.  Their  first  plan  was  to  drive 
four  bents  of  piling  for  each  track,  one  bent  on  each  side  of  the 
abutments.  These  piling,  when  capped  and  timbered,  supported  the 
tracks  and  also  permitted  the  excavation  and  construction  of  the  con- 
crete abutments  without  interruption  to  traffic. 

After  excavation  was  under  way,  the  nature  of  the  material  en-  s 

i 

countered  suggested  the  use  of  wells  in  the  gravel  for  subway  drain- 
age. The  original  idea  of  a twenty- four  inch  tile  running  north  one* 
half  mile  to  a creek,  was  difficult  and  expensive  for  the  reason  that 

through  much  of  the  distance  excavation  of  twelve  to  twenty-five  feet 

was  necessary.  A tentative  estimate  indicated  a possible  cost  of 
$7500.  The  Santa  Fe  engineers  saw  possibilities  of  appreciable  sav- 
ing to  their  company,  should  they  be  permitted  to  substitute  this 
indirect  disposal  arrangement  in  place  of  the  expensive  tile  connec- 
tion. These  wells  were  to  be  ten  feet  in  depth,  ten  feet  in  dia- 
meter, dry  brick  walled  and  topped  by  a manhole  or  cover  placed  just  j 
outside  the  curb  line  of  the  pavement  where  they  would  be  readily 
accessible  should  it  be  necessary  to  remove  sludge  or  other  accumula- 
tions. Inasmuch  as  the  future  maintenance  of  the  drainage  system 
evolved  upon  the  Railroad  Company,  the  Department  readily  consented 
to  the  change.  At  present  these  wells  are  in  place,  but  as  the 

pavement  is  not  yet  placed,  no  idea  can  be  gained  of  their  effective- 

ness. 

The  most  surprising  experience  on  the  entire  subway  so  far  en- 
countered, was  the  difficulty  of  driving  the  piles  for  track  support 
during  excavation.  The  Santa  Fe  utilized  standard,  heavy  railroad 


36 


\ 

! equipment  consisting  of  one  seven  thousand  pound  Bucyrue  steam  hammer* 
capable  of  striking  approximately  seventy  blows  per  minute,  for  plac- 
ing these  pointed  oak  piles  twelve  to  fourteen  inches  in  diameter. 

The  progress  was  so  unsatisfactory,  twenty  to  thirty  driving  hours 
being  required  to  drive  a thirty-foot  pile  to  required  grade,  that  a 
second  hammer,  similar  in  nature,  was  placed  at  workf  all 

piles  were  tipped  with  a steel  nose  to  prevent  brooming  and  to  in- 
crease, if  possible,  the  penetration.  This  met tod  was  pursued  in 
providing  falsework  for  the  four  north  tracks  but  progress  was  slow 
and  the  cost  excessive* 

By  a system  of  switches  and  turnouts,  traffic  was  routed  over 
the  four  north  tracks  and  the  steam  shovel  continued  its  operations 
until  the  tracks  were  again  reached*  On  removal  of  the  shovel, 
temporary  piles  were  driven,  falsework  constructed  and  traffic  re- 
turned to  normal* 

When  inspection  of  the  original  site  took  place,  no  mention  was 
made  of  the  pipe  lines  of  the  Prairie  0^-1  and  Gas  Company  which  were 
later  found  buried  about  four  feet  beneath  the  ground  surface,  some 
fifty  feet  north  of  the  north  track.  These  go  uld  not  be  removed, 
neither  could  they  be  disturbed.  This  changed  the  original  classi- 
fication point#  on  excavation;  it  made  necessary  a readjustment  with 
the  contractor  at  a new  figure  of  $1*50  per  cubic  yard  for  all  exca- 
vated material  between  the  tracks  and  the  pipe  line. 

Various  schemes  were  proposed  for  removing  the  material  under 
the  north  traoksbut  the  contractor  chose  to  do  so  by  means  of  a 
drum  and  endless  cable  attached  to  a hoisting  engine  with  which  he 
operated  a slip  scraper  back  and  forth  between  the  bents.  This  ar- 
rangement worked  efficiently  and  no  doubt  removed  the  material  econ- 

j j 

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37— 

In  most  engineering  work  involving  the  use  of  piles,  the  driving 
is  continued  until  the  penetration  secured  toy  the  last  tolow  of  the 
hammer  approaches  the  limits  set  toy  the  standard  engineering  formulae. 
Those  experienced  in  work  of  this  character  also  pretend  to  predict 
the  nature  of  the  materials  encountered  or  the  causes  that  contribute 
to  the  resistance  offered.  In  the  case  of  the  subway,  the  excava- 
tion of  the  material  later  gave  an  opportunity  to  gain  an  insight 
into  the  condition  that  contributed  to  the  difficulties  of  driving 
the  temporary  piles,. 

As  the  gravel  was  removed  and  the  piles  exposed,  it  was  found 
that  not  more  than  fifty  per  cent  of  them  extended  to  the  limits  of 
the  excavation.  Of  these  many  were  broken,  others  split,  some 
broomed  and  many  tumbled  over  as  soon  as  the  gravel  was  removed. 
Possibly  not  more  than  twenty-five  per  cent  were  effective  enough 
to  do  the  work  for  which  they  were  intended. 

It  would  seem  that  a dense,  clean  gravel  presents  such  unusual 
resistance  to  pile  penetration  that  other  means  of  improvement  should 
be  given  preference  rather  than  attempt  the  temporary  pile  trestle 
bent  construction, 

IX.  CONCLUSIONS. 

As  the  Peoria-Henry  Highway  stands  today  virtually  complete, 
it  is  opportune  to  look  back  in  retrospect  to  some  errors  which  oc- 
curred in  the  location,  design  and  construction,  ever  mindful  that 
the  criticism  should  be  tempered  with  moderation  when  corrparing  pre- 
sent and  past  highway  construction  policiies.  In  the  four  years 
that  have  elapsed  since  the  original  conception  of  this  road,  vast 
changes  in  public  sentiment  have  taken  place.  The  standard  types 
of  improvement  in  use  in  1917  axe  today  considered  inadequate  to 

J 


38 


acooranodate  the  number  of  vehicles  or  to  sustain  the  loads  imposed 
upon  them. 

Today  it  would  seem  apparent  that  the  location  near  Rome  or 
extending  south  from  Chillicothe  can  be  justly  criticized  for  several 
reasons.  It  would  have  been  much  safer  to  re-locate  an  entire  new 
highway  on  the  west  of  the  Rock  Island  tracks  from  the  first  grade 
crossing  north  of  Mossville  to  Chillicothe,  again  meeting  the  present 
highway  at  the  first  turn  west  of  the  Rock  Island  station.  This 
would  shorten  the  distance  possibly  three-eighths  to  one-half  mile, 
save  that  number  of  miles  to  through  traffic,  reduce  the  cost  of  im- 
provement by  an  appreciable  amount,  and  eliminate  the  only  two  rail- 
road grade  crossings  on  the  project.  Also,  the  suggested  location 

is 

would  not  have  incurred  the  expense  of  river  protection  or  the  main- 
tenance of  same,  not  to  mention  all  confusion,  delays  and  damage© 
such  as  were  incident  to  construction  on  the  present  location. 

The  first  effort  to  eliminate  right-angle  turns  by  means  of 
circular  curves  with  tangent  dietances  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
was  looked  upon  with  apprehension  by  many  of  the  engineers  in  the 
Department.  To  have  thought  of  providing  superelevation  would  have 
brought  the  Division  harshly  in  opposition  to  many  who  thought  such 
action  extended  an  invitation  to  high-speed  traffic.  Between  the 
dates  of  location  and  completion,  aocepted  tangent  lengths  increased 
to  three  hundred  feet  in  standard  practice,  and  superelevation  was 
brought  into  popular  favor.  Many  tangent  lengths  on  construction 
were  increased  over  the  figures  indicated  on  the  plans,  but  unfor- 
tunately the  limitations  set  by  the  original  right-of-way  options 
made  material  increase  impossible  without  a reopening  of  adjustments 

which  would  have  been  inpracticable  and  undesirable.  In  the  earlier 


—39— 

work  superelevation  on  curve®  was  attained  by  beginning  the  rise 
seventy-five  feet  back  from  the  point  of  curvature  on  the  tangent. 
Experience  taught  that  the  appearance  was  improved  and  much  better 
riding  qualities  were  secured  if  this  superelevation  was  a maximum 
at  the  point  of  curvature  anA-h&d~b#en  secured  by  a gradual  increase 
from  a point  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  back  on  the  tangent. 

A more  difficult  problem  need  not  be  imagined  than  that  of  de- 
signing a highway  of  adequate  width,  not  to  accommodate  present 
traffic  alone , but  to  anticipate  in  as  far  as  possible  the  demands 
that  will  be  imposed  in  future  years.  As  one  of  the  main  St  ate 
highways,  it  gave  indications  of  importance f but  the  recommendations 
of  the  District  Engineer  and  Engineer  of  Design  for  an  eighteen  foot 
pavement  were  disregarded,  possibly  for  financial  reasons.  There 
can  be  no  question  but  that  the  policy  of  minimum  right-of-way  ad- 
justments to  avoid  friction,  at  the  sacrifice  of  width  of  graded 
roadway  or  width  of  pavement,  will  in  time  impair  the  general  utility 
of  the  highway*  How  much  better  it  would  have  been  to  have  con- 
structed a graded  width  of  thirty  feet,  which  certainly  would  have 
been  more  ample  to  aoconmodate  the  demands  of  the  future* 

The  Peoria-Henry  Highway  stands  today  as  one  of  the  principal 
sections  of  the  longest  stretch  of  permanently  surfaced  federal-aid 
highway  in  the  United  States.  The  problems  presented  in  the  con- 
struction were  in  several  instances  extreme,  and  possibly  many  will 
wonder  at  the  large  volume  of  additional  work  or  special  features, 
yet  such  could  neither  be  anticipated  or  avoided*  In  comparison 
with  standard  practice  of  today,  several  glaring  defects  have  been 
pointed  out,  but  not  so  much  with  the  spirit  of  criticism  as  the  hops 

that  they  may  enable  others  to  eliminate  similar  errors  in  the  future 
highway  program* 


J '•  . * -X 


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